Sprayer device with aerosol functionality (&#34;flairosol&#34;)

ABSTRACT

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, Flair® based aerosol-type devices can be provided. Such devices utilize a combination of Flair® technology, pre-compression valves and aerosol like pressurization of the dispensed liquid. Such a dispensing device has a main body comprising a pressure chamber, the latter being provided with a pressure piston and a pressure spring. The device further has a piston and a piston chamber which draws liquid from a reservoir and fills the pressure chamber with that liquid as a user operates the trigger in various compression and release strokes. The piston chamber has both an inlet valve and an outlet valve. In a dispensing head a valve is provided to regulate the strength of the flow and preclude leakage. Once the liquid is sufficiently pressurized, it can be dispensed by a user opening an activation valve, such as by pressing on an activation button, and spray can be abruptly stopped by a user ceasing to push on such button. Or, for example, in alternate embodiments without an activation button, once the liquid is sufficiently pressurized, continuous spray occurs until the pressure chamber is emptied. By repeatedly pumping the trigger before the pressure chamber is fully emptied, continuous spray can be achieved. By designing the input volume to be amply greater than the volume of the pressure chamber, continuous spray with fewer pumping strokes can be implemented.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplications Nos. 61/343,977, filed on 5 May 2010, and 61/456,349, filedon 4 Nov. 2010, the disclosures of each of which are hereby fullyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to dispensing technologies, and inparticular to a sprayer device that can place liquids under pressure anddispense them in a manner equivalent to that of an aerosol device orcan, in either (i) a user controlled manner; or (ii) a continuous spraymanner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Liquid dispensing devices such as spray bottles are well known. Someoffer pre-compression so as to insure a strong spray when the trigger ispulled and prevent leakage. Sprayers can be easily manufactured andfilled, and are often used to dispense cleaners of all types, forexample, However, in many circumstances it is preferred not to have tocontinually pump a dispensing device to push out the dispensed liquid.Thus, aerosols are also well known. Aerosols hold a liquid or otherdispensate under pressure such that when a user activates the device(e.g., by pressing a button) the pressurized contents are allowed toescape. However, aerosols present both significant environmental hazardsas well as packaging drawbacks, which result from the necessity of usingan aerosol propellant in them, and the further necessity of pressurizingthem. This requires filling such devices under pressure, using packagingstrong enough to withstand the pressure, and taking steps to insure thatthe propellant maintains a uniform pressure over the life of the can orcontainer. Such conditions often require use of non-environmentallyfriendly materials and ingredients.

To overcome these drawbacks, what is needed in the art is a spray devicethat can provide aerosol type functionality without the numerousdrawbacks of actual aerosols.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, “Flairosol”dispensing devices can be provided. Such devices utilize a combinationof Flair® technology, pre-compression valves and aerosol likepressurization of the dispensed liquid. Such a dispensing device has,for example, a main body comprising a pressure chamber, the latter beingprovided with a pressure piston and a pressure spring. The devicefurther has a piston and a piston chamber which draws liquid from acontainer, for example, the inner container of a Flair® bottle, andfills the pressure chamber with that liquid as a user operates a triggerin various compression and release strokes. The piston chamber has bothan inlet valve and an outlet valve, which serve to prevent backflow. Inexemplary embodiments of the present invention, these valves can becombined in a single dome valve. The outlet valve portion of the domevalve allows liquid exiting the piston chamber under pressure (suppliedby a user's pumping the trigger) to enter a central vertical channelwhich is in fluid communication with both the pressure chamber (abovethe pressure piston) and the membrane valve which leads to the outletchannel and nozzle at the top of the dispensing head. Such an upperoutlet valve (e.g., a membrane valve and/or a shuttle valve) can beprovided to regulate the strength of the flow and preclude leakage.

In an activation button embodiment, for example, once the liquid issufficiently pressurized, it can be dispensed by a user releasing theupper outlet valve by pressing on an activation button. In alternateembodiments of the present invention without an activation button, forexample, known as “continuous spray” embodiments, once the liquid issufficiently pressurized, continuous spray occurs until (i) the pressurechamber is emptied or (ii) until the pressure of the liquid in thepressure chamber (including the central vertical channel) falls belowthe opening pressure of such upper outlet valve. These generally occurat the same time, inasmuch as exemplary systems are designed such thatthe pressure spring always supplies sufficient force to overcome theupper outlet valve, and thus the upper outlet valve only functions tostop dribbles once the pressure chamber has been emptied of fluid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts two exemplary embodiments of a Flairosol device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary “activation button” embodiment of aFlairosol device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a longitudinal cross-section and an enlarged upperportion thereof of the exemplary device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows further details and variations of the membrane/shuttlevalve assembly and the dome valve in an exemplary Flairosol “activationbutton” embodiment;

FIGS. 5-6 illustrate an exemplary release or fluid intake stroke of theexemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 2 according to exemplary embodimentsof the present invention;

FIGS. 7-8 illustrate a subsequent compression or fluid outflow intopressure chamber stroke of the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 3according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 3 with acompletely filled pressure chamber and the spring under the pressurepiston being compressed to its lowermost position, according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 2 once theactivation button has been pushed, the membrane valve thus released, andspraying has begun according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 shows the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 2 where sprayinghas stopped; either the activation button has been released (leftpanel), or the liquid pressure drops below the membrane valve openingpressure (right panel), thus stopping spraying according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 depicts exemplary Flairosol “continuous spray” embodimentsaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 13 depicts a longitudinal cross-section and an enlarged upperportion thereof of the exemplary Flairosol “continuous spray” device ofFIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows further details and variations of the exemplary Flairosolcontinuous spray embodiment of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows an initial release or fluid intake stroke of the exemplaryFlairosol continuous spray device of FIG. 13 according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a subsequent compression or outflow of fluid intopressure chamber stroke of the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 13according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention wherecontinuous spraying has also begun;

FIG. 17 illustrates a consecutive release stroke of the exemplaryFlairosol device of FIG. 13, where the liquid is pushed out of thepressure chamber through the orifice and liquid is also taken into thepiston chamber; and

FIG. 18 depicts stopping of spraying in an exemplary Flairosolcontinuous spray type device according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, where once the liquid pressure is too low to create agood spray, the membrane valve deforms to its original state and blocksthe liquid.

It is noted that the U.S. patent or application file contains at leastone drawing executed in color (not applicable for PCT application).Copies of this patent or patent application publication with colordrawings will be provided by the U.S. Patent Office upon request andpayment of the necessary fee.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a liquid sprayingdevice offers the benefits of both a liquid sprayer and an aerosoldevice. Such an exemplary device is referred to herein as a “Flairosol”device, given that it uses the “bag within a bag” Flair® technologydeveloped and provided by Dispensing Technologies B.V. of Helmond, TheNetherlands, and combines that technology with means to internallypressurize the liquid prior to spraying so as to emulate aerosoldevices.

It is noted that the functionalities described herein could, forexample, be implemented without Flair® “bag within a bag” technology,and thus exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not strictlylimited thereto. However, such a non-Flair® technology implementationwould be more expensive and more cumbersome to produce and use. The “bagwithin a bag” Flair® technology, which causes the inner container toshrink around the pressure chamber and input tube, and thus obviatesheadspace in the inner container, obviates the need for a full lengthdip tube, and also obviates the need to attach the liquid container atthe bottom of the unit to prevent crimping and failure to dispense thefull contents. Because in Flair® technology the pressure applied to theinner bag results from a displacing medium that is provided between theinner container and the outer container (for example, air), directventing of the liquid container is not required.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a dispensing devicecan be provided with an internal pressure chamber. The liquid to bedispensed can be caused to fill the pressure chamber and, as it isfilled, push against a pressure piston that is supported by a pressurespring that is provided in the pressure chamber. Thus, when a user pumpsliquid into the pressure chamber this liquid pushes on the pressurepiston, which loads (compresses) the pressure spring, which puts theliquid in the pressure chamber under pressure in a manner similar to thepressurized contents of an aerosol can. In exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention such a pressure spring can be a spring in the broadestsense, and thus can be any resilient device which can store potentialenergy, including, for example, an air or gas shock absorber or spring,a spring of various compositions and materials, and the like, In someexemplary embodiments of the present invention, such pressure in thepressure chamber can, for example, reach approximately three (3)-five(5) bar. In other embodiments it can be 10-20 bar, for example, and instill others, 500-800 milibar, for example. It all depends upon theliquid dispensed, its viscosity, the fineness of spray desired, etc.Further details of the pressure chamber and the pressure spring and itsmotion are described below in connection with FIG. 3.

Once the liquid is pressurized in the pressure chamber, a user canrelease an outlet valve and the liquid will spray out. In exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, a central channel can be providedabove the pressure chamber, and be in fluid communication with both thepressure chamber and an upper outlet valve leading ultimately to a spraynozzle. Because the outlet valve has a minimum “deforming pressure” acertain minimum pressure is required before any liquid can be sprayed,thus providing the consistency of spray and non-leakage features of apre-compression system. The minimum deforming pressure can, in variousexemplary embodiments, be varied by thickness, shape, composition andstrength of the valve. In some exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention the minimum deforming pressure can be low, for example, ½ bar,for a system where the pressure spring varies between 3-5 bar as afunction of its minimum and maximum compressions within the pressurechamber, for example. Thus, in such embodiments, while the pressurespring actually controls the outlet pressure of the liquid, once theuser releases the activation button, or the pressure chamber is emptied,the upper outlet valve helps bring a “hard stop” to the fluid flow, thuspreventing dripping or leaking at the end of a spray. As noted below,because there are two valves operating in concert, one gating entry ofthe liquid into the pressure chamber (for example a dome valve) andholding it in under pressure, and the other gating outflow or sprayingfrom the upper outlet channel (for example a membrane valve), a varietyof different controls for various liquids in various contexts can beimplemented.

Details of the invention are next described in connection with FIGS. 1through 18, in which FIGS. 2-11 depict a first “Activation Button”Flairosol variant, where an activation button must be released to allowthe liquid to spray, and where FIGS. 12-18 depict a second “ContinuousSpray” Flairosol variant, where once a minimum pressure of the liquid isreached, the liquid sprays continuously until the pressure chamber isemptied. In either variant, Flairosol involves the combination of one ormore a pre-compression valve members, a Flair® bottle (inner containerand outer container with displacing medium between them) and a pressurechamber that can store mechanical energy in a resilient or springdevice.

FIG. 1 shows exemplary form factors of each of such two exemplaryversions of Flairosol devices according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. On the left side an “Activation Button” version isshown, and on the right side, a “Continuous Spray” version is shown.Each version can be used in appropriate contexts, as described morefully below.

A. Flairosol With User Spray Activation/Deactivation

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary Flairosol activation button exemplaryembodiment. Even if the liquid has been sufficiently pressurized, theactivation button version only sprays when a user presses on anactivation button, and thus all spraying is under a user's granularcontrol. Here an activation button can be provided on the top of thedevice, for example. The trigger is used to internally generate pressureon a portion of the liquid in a pressure chamber, thus storingsufficient energy to allow the liquid—once pressurized—to spray outunder pressure. Once the liquid in the internal pressure chamber issufficiently pressurized, a user can press on the activation buttonwhich then allows the liquid to spray out of the outlet channel.

FIG. 3 shows details of the exemplary activation button Flairosol deviceof FIG. 2. The device is a combination of a pre-compression sprayer, aFlair® bottle and a pressure chamber/buffer. There is thus shownactivation button 310, membrane valve 320, shuttle valve 315, piston330, piston chamber 335, central vertical channel 325, dome valve 340,trigger 350, pressure piston 360, pressure spring 365, pressure chamber370 and inlet tube 380. In exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, piston 330 can be actuated, for example, by trigger or lever350, which itself can be connected to the piston 330 by, for example, apivot arm anchored at a point, or by any other appropriateconnecting/transfer of force mechanism. Such operation of trigger 350pressurizes a portion of the liquid, as described below.

It is noted that piston 330 need not necessarily be oriented verticallyas shown, but rather can be oriented in a variety of directions, as maybe desirable or needed. For example, instead of having the piston moveup to fill the piston chamber and come down to empty it as shown, thereverse could, for example, be done, or various horizontal motions couldbe implemented, as is commonly done in sprayers. If the reverse verticalorientation is implemented, for example, and the piston thus comes downto fill the piston chamber and moves upwards to empty it, then any airbubbles that are mixed in the liquid can float to the top of the pistonchamber in a release stroke (when the piston chamber fills) and beeasily purged in the subsequent compression stroke (when the pistonchamber empties).

It is noted that the deforming pressure of the valve gating entry intothe pressure chamber, for example, dome valve 340, can always be morethan the maximum pressure chamber pressure of the container. In thissense, such dome valve, for example, is the ultimate “boss.” The domevalve thus has to withstand any pressure developed in the pressurechamber so that liquid does not flow backwards into the piston chamber,for example. It is also noted that such a valve can, for example, besplit into two valves, one acting as an inlet valve to the pistonchamber and the other acting as a gatekeeper to the pressurechamber/central channel.

It is noted that because liquid is not compressible, as long as there isliquid in the central channel above the pressure chamber, if thepressure spring 365 is still compressed in any way and thus delivering aforce, in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the liquidwill flow out of membrane valve 320 if the activation button is pressed.This is because in exemplary embodiments of the present inventionpressure chamber 370 can be designed so as to be always shorter than thelength of pressure spring 365 at its full extension, with no compressionat all. Thus, as long as pressure spring 365 has some compression, itcan generate a pressure in excess of the opening pressure of themembrane valve 320. Were this not the case, the pressure piston wouldnever be able to extend to the top position of the pressure chamber andpart of the volume of liquid in the pressure chamber would be never beexpelled and thus wasted. Although systems can be designed that waywithin the present invention, it is not an optimal use of resources.Thus, in general, the opening pressure of membrane valve 320 is lessimportant to operation than pressure spring 365.

Thus, pressure spring can be designed, for example, to be alwayscompressed to some degree within the pressure chamber, both at theuppermost position of the pressure piston (pressure chamber empty ofliquid), where the force pressure spring delivers is F1, and at thelowermost position of the pressure piston (pressure chamber full ofliquid), where the force pressure spring delivers is F2, where F2>F1,and both F1, and F2 are greater than F0 (=no force delivered by thepressure spring, at its maximum length, where there is no compression).In this way the pressure of a liquid being sprayed out of the devicewill vary linearly somewhere between F2 and F1 as spraying continues.For example, if the pressure spring 365 at its maximum compressionwithin pressure chamber 370 delivers 5 bar, and at its minimumcompression within pressure chamber 370 delivers 3 bar, the spray willalways vary linearly between 5 and 3 bar, As described below inconnection with FIG. 9, an exemplary system does not allow pressurespring 365 to be overcompressed and thus possibly damaged, by means ofoverflow hole 910.

FIG. 4 depicts details of the two valves used in exemplary embodimentsof the present invention, a dome valve 340 which regulates entry intothe internal piston chamber, and a shuttle valve 325 and membrane valve320, which together operate as an upper outlet valve, thus gating exitof the liquid into an outflow channel and towards a nozzle. As shown inthe right side of FIG. 4, if the generated pressure in the pressurechamber is large (say for a viscous liquid, or for example, where a finespray mist is desired), dome valve 340 can be strengthened by anadditional spring 343. Similarly, additional spring 327 can be added toshuttle valve 325 to increase its opening pressure.

FIGS. 5-6 show an exemplary release or intake stroke of the exemplaryFlairosol device of FIG. 3. The right image of FIG. 5, and amagnification of it shown in FIG. 6, depict details of the pistonchamber 335, piston 330 and fluid path in such a release stroke, Thetrigger 350 can be spring loaded (plastic integrated spring) as in astandard sprayer. When the trigger is moved outward (see black arrow onright image in FIG. 5) the piston moves upwards and away from thedevice, and liquid is sucked into the piston chamber, as shown by thearrows in the center of FIG. 6 running from near dome valve 340 topiston chamber 335. The actual liquid flow path lies behind the centralvertical channel 325 leading to the outlet channel at the top of thedevice, and thus is not shown in FIG. 6. As shown at 610, the liquidpasses the inlet valve 650 of the dome valve (see top and bottom rightof the dome valve), and then passes through a channel (not shown) intopiston chamber 335. It is noted that because the liquid being drawn upinto the piston chamber in this release stroke is not pressurized(inasmuch as it comes from the body of the inner container or bottle andnot the pressure chamber), it is unable to overcome the dome valve sealand proceed into the outlet channel. Thus, the dome valve closes off theoutlet channel, as shown at 610.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrate an exemplary compression stroke of the exemplaryFlairosol device of FIG. 3 according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. A user pushes down on trigger 350, causing the pistonchamber to empty, and forcing the liquid downwards and out of it,towards the dome valve. Here the liquid is forced back through the samechannel by which it entered the piston chamber, shown again by thedashed arrow line in the center of FIG. 8. It is noted that multiplechannels can be used as well, for example, for safety reasons. The inletvalve of the dome valve prevents the liquid from going back into thebottle through the uptake line, as shown in FIG. 8 at 810, but now,inasmuch as the liquid is pressurized, the dome valve flexes openbecause of the liquid's pressure, now allowing the liquid to both enterthe pressure chamber below, and move up into the central channel towardsthe membrane valve above, as shown in FIG. 8. At the top of the device,as shown at 710 in FIG. 7, the pressurized liquid is blocked by theactivation button holding the membrane valve shut. When the liquidenters the pressure chamber, the spring under the pressure piston isthus compressed, as shown at 720, in the right image of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 3 with acompletely filled pressure chamber and the spring under the pressurepiston being at its maximally compressed state (as defined by thedesign—obviously the shown spring could be compressed even further),according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It is notedthat as the pressure chamber is filled, because of an under pressurethus created in the (inner) Flair® bottle, air is sucked in between theFlair® layers (venting) as shown at the bottom of FIG. 5 (left image),inasmuch as the space between the outer surface of the inner Flair®bottle, and the inner surface of the outer Flair® bottle (said spaceshown in light blue in FIG. 9), is open to ambient pressure via thisventing.

Returning to FIG. 9, if the trigger is still pulled by a user after thepressure chamber has been completely filled, the liquid pushed by thepiston is put back into the bottle through an overflow hole 910 that isplaced right at the normal bottom position (maximally compressedpressure spring) of the pressure piston in the pressure chamber. Thus,if the pressure spring is pushed even farther downwards, the pressurepiston temporarily drops below the overflow hole, and the additionalliquid pushed into the pressure chamber will then exit back into thecontainer due to the overflow, as shown in the right side of FIG. 9.This is a safety feature to prevent over-compression and compromising ofthe pressure spring 365. Additionally, any slight over-pressure of airbetween the containers can be pushed out between the two layers of thecontainer, as shown by the light blue arrows at the bottom of FIG. 9,right image.

In the situation of FIG. 9 when the pressure piston rises to cover theoverflow hole 910, the liquid in the pressure chamber is now underpressure because of the compressed spring under the pressure piston. Inthis configuration the liquid cannot return into the bottle because thisis closed off by the inlet valve portion of the dome valve. Similarly,the liquid cannot yet pass to the outlet channel and through the orificebecause the activation valve is closed by the activation button. This isbecause when the activation button is released, the shuttle valve islocked and the liquid cannot pass to the nozzle or outlet channel. Useraction is thus needed to spray.

FIG. 10 shows the exemplary Flairosol device of FIG. 3 once the user haspushed down on activation button 310 (as shown by the direction of theblack arrow) in the left image, the lock on the membrane valve thusreleased, and spraying has begun according to exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. When the activation button 310 is pushed, theshuttle valve is unlocked. As a result, the only bar to the exit of theliquid is its being at a minimum pressure to overcome the membrane valve(and, if implemented, an extra spring behind the shuttle valve as shownin FIG. 4), If so, the liquid deforms the membrane valve (overcoming itsopening pressure) and pushes the shuttle valve backwards, and thusliquid can pass through outlet channel 390 towards the nozzle, as shownin FIG. 10, and in particular, the right image of FIG. 10. As noted, theopening pressure of the membrane 4. shuttle valve combination can beincreased by adding an additional spring as shown in FIG. 4, forexample, or by otherwise increasing the opening pressure of thesestructures, as may be needed for high pressure applications, such asviscous liquids or fine mist spraying, as noted above (the higher thepressure of the liquid, the finer the mist).

FIG. 11 illustrates a user stopping spraying according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. To prevent dripping, the liquidhas to be shut off very suddenly. Thus, if the liquid pressure is toolow to create a good spray, the membrane valve deforms to its originalstate and blocks the liquid. Thus, the outlet valve immediately closeswhen the activation button 310 is released by a user, as shown in theleft side of FIG. 11. Alternatively, even if not released, when theliquid pressure in the central vertical channel is too low to open theoutlet valve, such as, for example, if the user has let the entirepressure chamber empty, as shown in the right side of FIG. 11.

In general, the opening pressure of the dome or equivalent valve thatgates entry to the central vertical channel in the valve body will behigher than either (i) the opening pressure of the shuttle or otheroutlet channel valve, and also higher than (ii) the maximum pressuredeveloped in the pressure chamber (at the lowest position of thepressure piston, corresponding to force F2 being delivered by thepressure spring This keeps pressurized liquid within the central channeland the pressure chamber while it is not being sprayed out. Thus, it isunderstood that various choices for (i) opening pressure of the domevalve (or other pressure chamber/central channel inlet valve); (ii)maximum pressure of the pressure spring at its lowermost allowedposition; and (iii) the opening pressure of the shuttle+membrane valve(or other upper outlet valve), can be used in various exemplaryembodiments of the present invention depending upon the particularapplication, the viscosity of the liquid to be dispensed, the desiredvolume of the pressure chamber and thus desired length of spraying time,the desired outlet pressure and fineness of mist or spray, etc. Thereare thus many variables that can thus be used to deliver a wide range ofFlairosol devices for various commercially desirable products andapplications.

B. Flairosol Continuous Spray

FIGS. 12-18 depict a Flairosol continuous spray embodiment according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention, as next described. FIG.12 shows exemplary continuous spray Flairosol devices from the outside.It is noted that there is only a trigger for a user to pump, but noactivation button (compare with FIG. 2, or left side images of FIG. 1).

FIG. 13 is analogous to FIG. 3, discussed above. FIG. 3 depicts how themain principle is the same for both exemplary Flairosol systems, i.e.,activation button and continuous spray. The main differences between thetwo embodiments are, as noted, that no activation button is needed forthe continuous spray Flairosol version. It is also noted that an outletvalve is obviously needed in both versions, such as membrane valve 1320of FIG. 13, but that in the continuous spray embodiment it has no endpin or shuttle valve by which it can be locked prior to the pressurechamber being emptied. If the pressure of the pressurized liquid is highenough, as described below, a membrane valve, or other valve, such as,for example, a spring loaded valve, at the top of the central verticalchannel opens and the liquid passes out the outlet channel.Additionally, for the continuous spray version, the pressure chamber canbe made smaller, for example, so that once a user stops pumping thetrigger a defined and controlled amount of liquid will spray out of thebottle.

There is thus shown in FIG. 13 membrane valve 1320, piston chamber 1335,piston 1330, central vertical channel 1325, dome valve 1340, trigger1350, pressure piston 1360, pressure spring 1365, pressure chamber 1370and inlet tube 1380. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention,piston 1330 can be actuated, for example, by trigger or lever 1350,which itself can be connected to piston 1330 by, for example, a pivotarm anchored at a point, or any other appropriate mechanism. Suchoperation of the trigger or lever 1350 pressurizes a portion of theliquid, in the same way as is described above for the activation buttonversion of Flairosol.

FIG. 14, analogous to FIG. 4 shows how an additional spring 1390 orother bolstering device can be added to dome valve 1340.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary release stroke of this exemplary continuousspray embodiment. With reference thereto, when trigger 1350, which canbe, for example, spring loaded, for example, using an integrated plasticspring, moves forward, liquid is thus sucked into the piston chamber, asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 5. Moreover, as shown in theleft panel of FIG. 15, at the bottom of the container the Flair® bottleis vented, so air can be sucked in between the two layers of the Flair®bottle as an under-pressure develops in the inner container due to theliquid being drawn up into the piston chamber. At this initial releasestroke, both pressure chamber 1370 and central vertical channel 1325have no liquid in them.

In FIG. 16 a subsequent compression stroke is shown. Here, as a userpushes down on trigger 1350, liquid is pushed out of piston chamber 1335and past a normally closed dome valve 1340, which it opens, and throughthe now open orifice (upon which dome valve 1340 is normally seated)both upwards into central vertical channel 1325 and downwards intopressure chamber 1370. When the liquid enters pressure chamber 1370,pressure spring 1365, under pressure piston 1360, is compressed, asshown at 1610. The liquid inside the piston chamber is pushed past thedome valve into the pressure chamber, as noted, AND from the centralvertical channel 1325 past the membrane valve 1320 to the outlet channel1390 and the nozzle, as shown at 1620, there being no activation buttoninteraction needed to enable outlet flow. Spray will continue until thepressure chamber is emptied.

FIG. 17 shows a subsequent release stroke, during which the nowpressurized liquid within central channel 1325 (above pressure chamber1370) is still being pushed out through the nozzle, as described justabove. During this consecutive release stroke, the liquid is pushed outof the pressure chamber through the orifice and the liquid is alsosucked into piston chamber 1335 as trigger 1350 moves outward and pistonchamber 1335 fills with liquid from the container, as described above.In this way a user can keep spraying by performing less strokes, and asdescribed below, if the input volume is properly set in relation to theoutput volume, a continuous spray can be maintained for as long as auser desires.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, by designing thevolume of the piston chamber to be larger than that of the pressurechamber, a user can keep the Flairosol device spraying while making onlya few strokes, as each pumping stroke is more than sufficient toreplenish the pressure chamber, and thus there is always a pressure inthe pressure chamber high enough for spraying. When a user stops makingpumping strokes with the trigger, the membrane valve closes as soon asthe pressure drops, due to the pre-compression requirement of thisvalve. This prevents dripping, and insures that when liquid is sprayedit has a minimum speed and thus a relatively narrow distribution ofspeeds for all the particles being sprayed, as is the case for allpre-compression systems.

As noted, for a given nozzle size and throughput, by adjusting the sizeof the pressure chamber relative to the size of the piston chamber, theoutput rate of the sprayer can be set to be less than the input rate.This insures that as long as a user keeps pumping the trigger, thesprayer will continuously spray. For example, if the output is set to0.7 cc per second (this is a function of, inter alia, nozzle diameterand swirl chamber length, etc.), and the input is set at 1.6 cc perstroke (volume of piston chamber), a user who pumps one stroke every 2.2seconds, will always be “ahead” of the spray output, and need not rushto keep the pressure chamber filled. Various volumes and relativevolumes of piston chamber and pressure chamber can be used as may beappropriate given the application and context.

Alternatively, for example, if the application is such that asemi-continuous spray is desired, where one wants to make sure the userreally intends to keep spraying, such as when using very costly, or verydangerous liquids, the reverse can be implemented, and the input can beset to be less than the output volume. In this case the input willalways be “behind” the spray output, and a user will have tointentionally keep pumping in order to keep the pressure chamber filled.

Additionally, it is understood that once a user stops pumping thetrigger, spray continues until either the pressure chamber has fullyemptied, or the potential energy in the spring under the pressure pistonhas dissipated such that the pressure in the pressure chamber is lessthan the outlet valve opening pressure. Thus, at a given flow rate, anda given size of pressure chamber, the Flairosol sprayer will continue tospray for some time. This can be adjusted to be longer or shorterdepending upon the application, by adjusting the relative sizes of thepiston chamber and the pressure chamber, as noted, for a constant nozzleoutput. As will thus be appreciated, the Flairosol technology convertsdiscrete input pump strokes to a continuous spray, by means of a liquidbuffer—the pressure chamber. By properly adjusting the relative volumes,as noted, continuous spray can be maintained with relatively few pumpstrokes, and they need not be absolutely regularly spaced, given theliquid buffer (i.e., pressure chamber plus central vertical channel).This makes for a clean and easy to use substitute for aerosols, andprovides that the contents—due to the Flair® inner container/outercontainer technology—never contacts the outside air or surroundings,thus being free of contamination and remaining fresh.

It is also noted that in exemplary embodiments of he present invention,because the Flairosol uses Flair® technology, the inner bottle willalways be compressed by ambient pressure (or some other displacingmedium) so as to shrink as the liquid is sprayed out over time. Thus, asis the case with all Flair technology, whatever liquid remains in theinner bottle is always available to be drawn by the piston into thepiston chamber and then sent into the pressure chamber. No air pocketsor gaps develop in the inner Flair® bottle, and there is no need to tiedown the inner container at the bottom of the device to preventcrimping. Hence the efficacy of combining Flair® technology with a cleanor “green” pressurized liquid spraying functionality akin to an aerosol,as in the various embodiments of the present invention.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A method of spraying a liquid, comprising:pressurizing the liquid in a pressure chamber above a certain minimumpressure with an outlet valve locked in a closed position; releasing avalve locking mechanism, wherein said pressure chamber is providedwithin an inner container that is surrounded by an outer container, andwherein a pressurizing medium can flow between the inner bottle and theouter bottle.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the pressurizing mediumis air, and wherein the space between the outer surface of the innercontainer and the inner surface of the outer container is open toatmospheric pressure.
 10. A method of dispensing a liquid from a device,comprising: providing a liquid within an inner container that issurrounded by an outer container; providing a pressure chamber withinthe inner container, said pressure chamber separated from an outletchannel by an outlet valve, said valve normally locked in a closedposition by a locking mechanism; drawing liquid from the inner containerand pumping it under pressure into the pressure chamber until saidliquid is at a pressure greater than or equal to a minimum pressuresufficient to open the outlet valve; and temporarily releasing the valvelocking mechanism so that the liquid can open the outlet valve and exitvia the outlet channel; wherein the space between the outer surface ofthe inner container and the inner surface of the outer container is opento the atmosphere, and wherein as the liquid is sprayed from the outletchannel air enters into such space and causes the inner container toshrink.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the liquid isprovided to the pressure chamber by hand pumping.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the pressure chamber is spring loaded and wherein theliquid pumped into the pressure chamber pushes against the spring andstoring energy in the spring.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theliquid is pumped into the pressure chamber under a pressure sufficientto open a pressure chamber entry valve.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the minimum pressure necessary to open said pressure chamberentry valve is more than the minimum pressure necessary to open theoutlet valve. 16-20. (canceled)
 21. A method of spraying a liquid,comprising: providing a pressure chamber within an inner container, saidinner container surrounded by an outer container, providing an outletvalve between said pressure chamber and an outlet channel; pressurizingthe liquid in the pressure chamber above a certain minimum pressure bymoving a piston within a piston chamber through various release andcompression strokes; and opening the outlet valve and spraying theliquid when said liquid is pressurized above the opening pressure of theoutlet valve.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein there is adisplacement medium provided between the inner container and the outercontainer.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said displacement mediumis air, and wherein the space between the outer surface of the innercontainer and the inner surface of the outer container is open toatmospheric pressure.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the volume ofthe piston chamber is greater than the volume of the pressure chamber,such that a continuous spray can occur.
 25. The method of claim 24,wherein the volume of the piston chamber is greater than the volume ofthe pressure chamber by a factor of between 1.5 and 3, inclusive. 26.(canceled)
 27. The method of claim 11, wherein said dispensing is one ofspraying or foaming a liquid or a mixture of a liquid and a gas.